A Prescott man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after strangling the Vietnam War veteran he shared a room with at a downtown veterans housing facility in December 2024. Adam Leslie Tucker, 35, was sentenced to natural life in prison without the possibility of parole for the premeditated first-degree murder of 73-year-old David Dale.
The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office announced the punishment on Thursday, according to Arizona’s Family. Prosecutors said the sentence capped an investigation built on physical evidence and witness testimony tying Tucker to the December 2024 killing.
Just after midnight on Dec. 11, 2024, Tucker called 911 and told dispatchers he had killed his roommate because he believed the older man was a pedophile, according to KTAR News. Authorities said Tucker later told prosecutors he had been thinking about killing Dale for some time and admitted he was using marijuana instead of taking prescribed medications before climbing onto the sleeping victim and strangling him. Investigators reported finding no evidence to support Tucker’s accusation about Dale.
Sentence and legal details
A jury convicted Tucker of premeditated first-degree murder, and a judge imposed a natural life term with no chance of parole, the county attorney’s office said in a written statement carried by Arizona’s Family. “The murder of a veteran is a heartbreaking and unacceptable act that strikes at the core of our Yavapai County community’s values,” Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in the statement.
Local context
Officials said the killing took place at a downtown Prescott veterans housing facility near Whipple Street and Miller Valley Road, and prosecutors repeatedly highlighted Dale’s military service in announcing the outcome of the case. The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office said the life sentence is intended both to hold Tucker accountable and to reassure veterans and residents shaken by the crime, as reported by KTAR News.
